OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman recently published a long article on the social media platform X in response to external doubts about OpenAI's upcoming IPO. Especially his debate with his old rival Elon Musk has attracted widespread attention. Recently, it was reported that OpenAI is considering applying for an initial public offering (IPO) as early as the second half of next year, with expected fundraising of at least $60 billion and a target valuation of up to $1 trillion, which would become one of the largest IPOs in history.
Image source note: The image was generated by AI, and the image licensing service provider is Midjourney
After Musk posted a satirical meme, Yuchen Jin, co-founder of Hyperbolic Labs, shared relevant screenshots on X and commented, "Sam Altman still holds zero shares in OpenAI, so even if it goes public, he won't make money." Some netizens also said that Altman's goals seem less clear than Musk's; Musk wants to explore Mars, while Altman seems to be pursuing a more legendary sense of existence.
In response, Altman said that if he were a sports star or an artist, he would just focus on doing things well, getting up at 5 am to train, and people would consider it normal. He believes that OpenAI's work is the most important scientific endeavor of this era or longer. He admitted that the current work is not very interesting, but he still finds it beneficial. He emphasized that the opportunity to leave a mark in the universe is worth pursuing, and most people do not have such an opportunity, so he feels deeply grateful for it.
